The average monthly cost of mobile services in Central and South American countries dropped approximately 20 percent between 2014 and 2017, according to Strategy Analytics Latin America Emerging Markets report. In addition, the level of data included in mobile plans in Latin America has doubled to an average of 3.4GB.
The report takes into account SIM only, prepaid and postpaid plans for individuals and businesses among more than 55 suppliers in 19 countries. A summary of the report says, "The implementation of 4G LTE technology in South and Central America has resulted in easier and better access to mobile telephony and internet services throughout the region. We have seen a strong shift from voice and SMS based services to data-based services."
The report highlights that the number of free minutes included in monthly services was 26 percent higher in 2017 compared to 2014 in Latin America. Also, the average published maximum download speed increased from 12Mbps in 2014 to almost 40Mbps in 2017.
"We have seen a strong change in terms of minutes, SMS and free data included, with a big increase especially in the amount of data included in the plans during the period from 2016 to 2017," said Strategy Analytics analyst, Pawel Kmiec. "They linked in the reduction of cost by surplus for all types of calls and data."